Cruise to New Zealand and Australia

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Saturday, 25 January 2025 - After a long international journey, we recovered at our hotel before spending the day with a local guide exploring Auckland, including Mission Bay, Mount Eden, Achilles Point, and a relaxed evening on the waterfront.

We staggered to our hotel in Auckland after 19 hours of travel time. Even though it was early morning and prior to check-in, the hotel made our room available. Thankfully, we took a quick hot shower.

We arranged for a local guide, Louise, who was amazing, to meet us at the hotel. We headed out for several hours touring Auckland.

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This is the beautiful water stretching out to one of the many volcanoes which make up the land of the North Island of New Zealand. This is Rangitoto Island, the youngest and largest of the ~50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, having erupted in two phases about 1450 AD and 11,000 AD.
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Looking across the bay to the hills of North Head, is a long peninsula which makes up the north side of Auckland Harbor.
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We stopped at Mission Bay beach/park, which is busy on a beautiful - but windy - summer Saturday.

Thought the complete disregard of the "keep out of the fountain" sign was funny.
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Louise pointed out the vibrant Pohutukawa with its red, bottle-brush looking blooms, also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree.
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A close-up of a small building at the park built with lava stone, which was originally an Anglican Mission.
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Downtown Auckland in the distance through the trees on Achilles Point.

Achilles Point is named after the ship, HMNZS Achilles, which defeated the German pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee in 1939.
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Virginia Ann and Cal posing on Achilles Point with traditional Maori totem-like carvings that represent and honor the Morie indigenous people.

The area where we're standing us the headland, previously known as Te Pane o Horoiwi, after Horoiwi, a tribal leader who arrived to New Zealand via canoe from Polynesia.
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Cliffs at Achilles Point.
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Downtown Auckland from the Auckland Yacht Club.
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We joined Louise at a great little restaurant on Ponsonby Road.

Cal and Virginia Ann are trying delicious New Zealand favorites, Afgan biscuits, a chocolate cookie with chocolate icing and walnuts which Louise baked.
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The top of Mount Eden is a large grassy park in the middle of downtown Auckland.

This mountain is a dormant volcano and its summit, at 643 ft above sea level, is the highest natural point on the Auckland isthmus.
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Downtown Auckland from the Mount Eden summit.
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A beautiful meadow formed in a cone from a volcano that erupted from three craters 28,000 years ago.

The name "Mount Eden" was chosen by Governor William Hobson to honor George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland and Hobson's superior naval officer. The crater is named Te Upu Kai a Mataaho ('the bowl of Mataaho'); Mataaho was a deity thought to live in the crater and guardian of the secrets hidden in the earth.
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The next stop was the Auckland War Memorial Museum. We were only had time to drive around the massive building, but later we would tour this museum.
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The exterior of the museum documents various battles in which the New Zealand Army participated.
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Massive Moreton Bay Fig trees in the park below the War Museum.
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Gate in the older part of town.
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Auckland Harbour Bridge crosses from Auckland city to the north side of the bay. The bridge is over 3,300 feet long. The original bridge was completed in 1959.
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Teddy Bear Statue in memory of Lawrence D Nathan (1910-1987) who had a deep affection for sailing and is outside the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, where he kept three classic yachts.
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The Auckland Ferry Terminal tower we saw while walking to dinner and took a quick picture.
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